Reversible dress



Mfay'17, 1938. M. H. PORTER 2,117,449

REVERSIBLE DRESS Filed 001'.. l2, 1937 Ff ATTORNEY.

Patented May 17, 1938 UNl'rlsfDf.V (STATES,

PATENT OFFICE ,y

` REVERSIBLE DRESS Michael H. Porter, Brookline, Mass.

Application October 12, 1937, Serial No. 168,580

, 3 Claims.

While reversible dresses have been made heretofore, they have consisted entirely, so far as I have been able to learn, of loosely fitting garments Yof the general type of aprons or smocks. They have 5 been of such a nature that it has been diicult, if

not impossible, to inject any style or individuality into them, or to make them iit the iigure in a manner which practically any woman desires. In all of these constructions of which I 10 have been able to learn, no attempt has been made to include sleeves or to produce a garment that would t around the neck.

The present invention is especially concerned with these considerations, and it aims to devise 15 a reversible garment which will have the more desirable characteristics that could not be included in reversible dresses of the types heretofore available.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

25 Figure 1 is a front view of a garment embodying this invention, a portion of the back of the garment also being shown in the mirror behind the model;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the dress shown in 30 Fig. l but reversed;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of a portion of the garment at the waist band; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are front and back views, respectively, of a collar structure which may be used 35 in the dress shown.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the garment there shown comprises a yoke 2 extending over the shoulders at both the front and back of the garment assuming, for the moment, that the 40 garment is worn in the manner illustrated in Fig. l. Stitched to the lower horizontal edges of the yoke is a blouse or waist 3, the material of which is gathered so that ample fullness is provided to permit the dress to be worn with either 45 side as the front. The skirt 4 may be made integral with the blouse 3, or separate from it, as

desired, but in any event, that part at the waist band 5 is gathered and stitched with rubber thread or to an elastic web, or treated in any equivalent manner such that an elastic waist band will be provided. This may conveniently be done by stitching the gathered area with seams like that shown in Fig. 3, each seam including a covered rubber thread 6 and a fibrous or non- 55 elastic thread 1, the former being secured to the goods by the loops or stitches of the latter. Sewing machines capable of making this seam are well known in the trade. They are so designed that the non-elastic thread 1 is stitched in .with sucient slack to permit a Very considerable degree of expansion or stretch of the gathered area, while the rubber thread 6 tends to hold this gathered portion of the garment in its contracted condition.

, Preferably the front of the dress shown in Fig. 1 is designed to be opened from top to bottom and is equipped with buttons 8 and button holes, or any other equivalent fastening means, for holding this side of the dress normally closed. Also, in order to make the dress more comfortable at the neck when worn in its reversed position, as shown in Fig. 2, an opening may be provided vertically through the yoke at the back and normally closed by a button 9, Fig. 1, or equivalent fastening, so that when reversed this part of the garment may be unbuttoned and the neck worn open, as shown in said figure.

By using a yoke construction on the shoulders, I am enabled to produce a garment in which the neck can be made to t nicely. Also, it can be treated in a variety of ways to produce changes in contour or style at this part of the garment. This is made possible by the fact that although the bust portion of a dress necessarily must be made with greater fullness than the back, yet the yoke can extend downwardly for a considerable distance below the neck at both front and back while still having its lower edge I0 at the front and its corresponding edge l2 at the back of substantially the same length. In other words, these edges can be located at those parts of the chest and back which do not vary greatly in dimensions for a given size of dress, and the fullness required in the bust can be produced by gathering the blouse portion 3 in the manner above described. This, however, would produce an eX- cessive fullness at the back if it were not for the elastic waist band portion which accommodates itself to the outlines of the figure and pulls in the extra material at the back while expanding at the front to give the greater fullness there required. A different treatment of the collar is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the former showing the front and the latter the back.

I nd that in this dress, also, a loose sleeve, such as those shown at l3l3, can readily be incorporated successfully. A tight sleeve could not be used because it necessarily must be set differently into the back and front, but this is not true with a puffed sleeve, such asthat shown, a cape sleeve,

or Various other loose types of sleeves. In addition, such a sleeve can 'be gathered and stitched to t closely around the arm, as shown at I4, an elastic thread being included inthe seams, or not, as desired.

Thus a reversible dress is provided having good fitting qualities and a degree of character and style which has not been possible heretofore in a garment of this type, so far as I have been able to learn. It is also susceptible of great variety in minor characteristics common in the dressmakers art which contribute much to design and individuality. At the same time the manufacturing operations are such that the garment can be produced at a Very reasonable labor cost.

While I have herein shown and described a typical embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in a great variety of other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is: ,Y

l. A reversible dress comprising a yoke extending over the shoulders with its edges located substantially below the neck at both front and back, and blouse and skirt portions, the material of the blouse portion being gathered and stitched to said yoke at both the front and back, said dress also having an elastic portion extending around the garment and forming the waist band.

2. A reversible dress comprising a yoke extending over the shoulders with its edges located substantially below the neck at both front and back, a loose fitting blouse portion, the material of which is gathered and the upper edges of which are stitched to said yoke at both the front and back, and a skirt extending downwardly from said blouse portion, the garment being gathered and stitched at the waist portion thereof and including elastic elements in the latter portion which cooperate with the gathered areas to form an elastic waist band.

3. A reversible dress comprising a yoke extending over the shoulders with its edges located substantially below the neck at both front and back, blouse and skirt portions, the material of the blouse portion being gathered and stitched to said yoke at both the front and back, said dress also having an elastic portion extending around the garment, and forming the waist band, and a close fitting collar secured to said yoke, said garment being adapted to be opened from the top to bottom at the front or back, depending upon which way the garment is worn, and being equipped with fasteners to close the same.

MICHAEL H. PORTER. 

